Artists Damien Shen and Daniel Connell are displaying portraits of their own personal heroes, and will mentor the students to select and sketch their idol.

The exhibition, Drawing on the heroes who shape us, is an adaptation of a project Daniel undertook in Mumbai.

"I did a project there called Heroes of the community where we asked the kids over a period of a week to choose somebody who they know, in their life, who has made their life and their community a better place," Daniel explained.

Through the process of selecting a person, who must be someone who knows the student by name, Daniel said it gives the drawers a chance to seek positivity in their lives and take action to promote it.

"If we sit down and think who has made a difference in our lives ... that's a very powerful statement."

Daniel will be creating a large portrait of his older brother as the exhibition progresses.

For Damien Shen, a research student at UniSA and artist, the seven portraits displayed represent his Ngarrindjeri and Chinese heritage.

Damien has drawn four portraits of two Ngarrindjeri uncles, an aunty and his mother, and three of his Chinese grandfather, grandmother and sister.

All were integral in shaping the man Damien is today, but no more, he believes, than his Chinese grandfather.

"He was an entrepreneur in China and came out to Australia to help raise us after my parents separated when I was young."

Recollections of his grandfather placing Damien on his lap and imparting ancient wisdoms still bring back fond memories.

Advice on topics from business to respect to friendships filled Damien's mind.

"He was just an amazing person."

Passing in 2006, Damien's grandfather left a permanent impression on his life.

"There rarely goes a day when I don't think about him."

Damien hopes that by sharing the story of his broken family to students who may be living in similar circumstances, he can encourage them to look for the positive role models that remain in their lives, like his grandfather did in his.

"They can start to think 'oh, okay, that's probably a person I need to spend some time with'."

"Hopefully the students will be able to look at [the portraits] and know that people can survive and they can succeed even when things do get hard."

Drawing on the heroes who shape us is open to the general public from 16 April to 1 June 2014 at the Artspace Gallery at the Adelaide Festival Centre.